Hand-held firearms usually require some type of hand guard or hand guard so that the operator can safely hold the firearm as it is fired. The hand guards currently available in the firearms industry have inherent design problems. Many firearms are operated in automatic or semiautomatic modes and have a tendency to heat extensively so that hand guards attached directly to the barrel can produce hand burns to the operator. The heat generated by the firearm barrel transfers directly to any components it contacts, thereby directly transferring heat sufficient to burn hands as well as to impair or destroy attached electrical devices. Further compounding this problem is the requirement that gun barrels be extra heavy to support the added weight attached by means of the collars. This in turn means more cantilevered stress on the barrel where it is joined with the firearm's aluminum receiver. The combination of heat and the barrel weight tend to pull the barrel chamber out of alignment with the bolt lead, thereby causing bolt lug and extractor failure. In addition, anything attached directly to the barrel of a firearm can have a tendency to alter the barrel slightly and any alterations can adversely affect the accuracy of the firearm.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,490,822 and RE39,465 to Swan describe a handgrip or hand guard in the form of a receiver sleeve attached to the top of a firearm upper receiver wherein the sleeve has an upper hand guard piece attached thereto and a bottom hand guard piece fitted about the bottom of the gun barrel and is attached to the upper hand guard piece. Such a configuration additionally requires a special U-shaped supporting yoke inserted about and secured to the barrel nut at the rearward end of the upper hand guard piece to which the modular sleeve is attached. However, due to U-shape design of the yoke the U-shaped yoke can only engage a portion of the barrel nut and therefore may not provide adequate support for hand guard components which will be supported from the yoke and barrel nut combination. Therefore, in these instances, this style hand guard may not suitably protect or aid a user of the firearm.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,451 and published United States Patent Application 2007/0261285 to Troy describes a modular hand grip for use on a firearm that includes an upper portion, a lower portion and a coupling assembly wherein a plurality of lug rails having a plurality of gaps therein project from an inner surface of the upper portion at opposing sides and proximate edges thereof, wherein the lugs can engage in the gaps in the lug rails of the lower portion. United States Patent Application US 2012/0124880 to Leclaire describes a firearm hand guard assembly attachable to a firearm upper receiver and surrounding the firearm barrel distally along the longitudinal axis without touching the barrel. The hand guard assembly of Leclaire comprises an upper component and a lower component of essentially equal lengths, wherein the upper component and lower component are attached to one another with a firearm barrel disposed therein, the sole contact between the firearm and the hand guard assembly is the contact between the firearm barrel nut and the inner surfaces of the proximal end of the hand guard assembly.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,490,822, RE 39,465, 7,216,451 and published United States Patent Applications 2007/0261285 and 2012/0124880 are hereby included by way of reference.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a hand guard in the form of an easily attachable dual component receiver sleeve. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved interface means for firearms which will isolate the barrel while providing various capabilities for mounting and integrating optics, lasers, sensors and the like.
Therefore, a need exists for systems and methods for providing a hand guard and accessory attachment device for a firearm, for example, a rifle.
The present invention addresses problems and deficiencies inherent in the hand guards of the art and presents improvements.
Accordingly, it is an object the present invention to provide a new and improved hand guard for a firearm.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand guard, which imparts increases stability when attached to the barrel of a firearm.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from a review of the following specification and accompanying drawings.